11 February 2024 – Bafana Bafana walked away with the bronze medal at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Côte d’Ivoire after beating DR Congo 6-5 on penalties in the tournament third-place play-off on Saturday night.
Captain and goalkeeper Ronwen Williams once again led from the front as he saved two penalties during the tense penalty shootout. He saved the final kick from Meschak Elia during sudden death to win the match for the South Africans.
The South African senior men’s team captain has been reluctant to take credit for his heroics during the tournament but will accept that his contribution was crucial.
The two sides created a number of opportunities during the match and with a bit of luck in front of goal, the match could have been wrapped up inside 90 minutes. The game finished at 0-0 and went straight to penalties. And after the two sides could not break the deadlock during regulation time, it was left up to Williams to once again step up to the plate and deliver.
Williams kept his fifth clean sheet in a single AFCON and in the process broke former goalkeeper Andre Arendse’s record.
Bafana Bafana will return to South Africa in the coming days after a tough campaign that quietly began in January with a training camp in Stellenbosch.